About

The International Men’s Day website is sponsored by the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation.

The Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation is an Australian Harm Prevention Charity. Formed in 2002, we aim to help turn the tide of fatherlessness as well as resource and encourage fathers. The mission of the Fatherhood Foundation is to improve the well-being of children by increasing the proportion of children growing up with involved, responsible, committed and loving fathers.

Manhood is the foundation for fatherhood. Good men make good fathers. Children and families are the benefactors.

Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation is honoured to work with the founder of International Men’s Day, Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, as well as family-friendly men and fatherhood groups all over the world. Together, we promote a unified celebration of manhood and the positive contribution that men make to society.

Calls for an International Men’s Day have been going on since at least the 1960’s when it was reported that “Many men have been agitating privately to make February 23 International Men’s Day, the equivalent of March 8, which is International Women’s Day” (New York Times, Feb 24 1969). Since this time there have been persistent international calls for the creation of an IMD, calls in the form of rhetorical questions about gender equality, e.g. “Why do women have an international celebration and not men?” and more commonly in the form of statements like “Men’s contributions and concerns deserve a day of recognition in their own right” i.e. not merely by analogy with International Women’s Day. Proposed objectives of an International Men’s Day include a focus on men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models.

Early pioneers of IMD reminded that the day is not intended to compete against International Woman’s Day, but is for the purpose of highlighting men’s experiences.

There were various attempts to start an International Men’s Day that received little response. It wasn’t until the November date which was inaugurated in Trinidad and Tobago by Dr. Jerome Teelucksingh in 1999 that International Men’s Day began to get international traction. The new event received overwhelming support in the Caribbean, and due to the persistent networking and invitations sent to individuals in other nations, International Men’s Day has taken root on the international scene. The Caribbean initiative is now independently celebrated in countries as diverse as Singapore, Australia, India, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, Haiti, Jamaica, Hungary, Malta, Ghana, Moldova, and Canada and interest in the event is increasing rapidly.